3. “Eleanor Rigby”

Released: August 5, 1966 (UK)No. 1 for: 4 weeks (UK)

“Eleanor Rigby” marked an important moment in The Beatles’ career, and signaled to the public that they weren’t a simple pop group anymore. The song’s themes of loss and loneliness were relatively new for the band, and shocked their audience. That, however, didn’t stop the song from sitting atop the charts for a month.

“Eleanor Rigby” was penned by Paul McCartney, and is a character-driven song featuring both the titular character and one known as Father McKenzie. The two live out their lives in solitude, coming together only when Father McKenzie presides over Eleanor’s funeral. The dark subject matter was complemented by a string octet, and marked the first time that none of The Beatles provided instrumentation on one of their songs — though Paul, John and George all did vocals.